Weihnachtsmarkt
by Casey Garmeau
Summary: (Holiday story) Elizaveta asked Emma out in hopes that they would be able to visit the annual Christmas market together. It isn't until minutes before their date that she begins to wonder whether or not it was a good idea. Oneshot: Hungary/Belgium, minor fluff, human names used.


_Gift fic for fanfiction user Inari Kasugawa. _

_Happy holidays, everyone! _

* * *

><p>"Roderich, you've gotta help me."<p>

A sigh sounded from the earpiece of the phone. "What's the problem this time? Aren't you supposed to be on a date right now?"

"That _is_ the problem," she responded, trying unsuccessfully to keep the exasperation out of her voice. "She just got here. Roderich, she's _adorable_. I can't believe I'm actually doing this. Do you think that she thinks it's a real date? What if she doesn't really–"

"Elizaveta, shut up," Roderich cut in not without a hint of animosity. "I'm sure everything will be fine. It's only a date. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm very busy and I need to get back to work."

"Come on, Rod," she almost whined into the receiver. "You're my cousin, you're supposed to help me out."

"There's nothing I can do, and you know that." He paused, and Elizaveta heard the sound of shuffling papers over the static of the phone call. "Look, her brother works in the same building as I do. Go bother him instead. He'll be able to help you more than I can. Just leave me alone while I'm working, will you?"

Elizaveta hastily agreed and wrote the phone number on the palm of her hand with a ballpoint pen. She didn't want to be hiding in this restroom for any longer than she had to be. It had been an impulse, really – she'd seen her date approaching with her eyes turned down to a lit cell phone screen and a thick scarf around her neck, and she'd immediately darted into the closest building to collect herself.

It had been three months since Emma had begun working for the same company as her. Elizaveta had tried hard to keep her eyes on her own work during that time, which proved to be rather difficult seeing as their desks faced each other and Elizaveta found herself gazing over at the woman's gorgeous blonde hair tied up with that signature green ribbon multiple times throughout the day, wondering what it would be like to really know her. A few polite words and greetings were all that they had shared for months until the day that Elizaveta had approached her by the coffee machine to propose that they spend some time together over the weekend.

And here they were now, Elizaveta hiding in the restroom making frantic phone calls and Emma standing outside probably wondering where she was. Elizaveta tried to tell herself to calm down as she punched the new number onto her keypad. It was completely irrational that she was acting like this in the first place. Dates had never bothered her before, and she'd never been this nervous before one.

But this time, she had no idea how to act. She'd asked Emma out in such an ambiguous way that it could have been seen as nothing more than a proposition of friendship. In that case, something as small as reaching for her hand could ruin everything. She couldn't have that, not so early into all of this. And especially due to the fact that, no matter what happened tonight, they'd be seeing each other for an awful long time at work afterwards. No, she had to be sure before she went out to greet the pretty blonde.

She was startled when a voice crackled across the phone line.

"What is it?" asked the gruff voice, sounding like the last thing he wanted to be doing right now was answering the phone. Elizaveta hoped that she hadn't woken him.

"Hello, is this Johannes?" she asked, keeping her voice bright. First impressions were never her strong suit.

"Jan," the man clarified. "Who is this?"

She breathed a sigh of relief. "My name's Elizaveta."

The man paused. "Elizaveta," he muttered. "Uh, Hed… Hardev…"

"Hedervary," she announced, glad that the man at least knew who she was.

"Where's Emma?" he asked quickly. "Has she shown up? She left twenty minutes ago, she should be there by now… Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine," Elizaveta said, startled at the man's reaction. "I just…" She stopped. She hadn't exactly thought this far into what she was going to say if Jan answered. "I just had a quick question."

"Go ahead."

"Does she think this is a date?" she said quickly, wanting to get to the root of her problem as soon as possible. Emma was outside in the cold and she didn't want to keep her waiting for long.

Jan didn't speak right away. "I try to stay out of my sister's business," he said slowly. "And trust me, I don't have anything against you seeing her until you give me a reason to." Elizaveta shuddered a bit at the tone of warning in his voice. "I can't give you a solid answer on this. All I know is that she was ecstatic when you two set up your little date on Friday."

"But does she–"

"She's been partial to women in the past," Jan said, cutting her off before she could continue. "I can't say much more than what I've already told you. Just treat her nicely, alright? I'll know if you don't."

Elizaveta couldn't help but smile a little at that. "Trust me, I plan on it," she assured him. "Thank you for your help, Jan."

"Of course. Enjoy your date."

She slipped the phone back into her pocket, feeling more confident about this whole ordeal than she had been earlier. She smoothed her hair down in the mirror for good measure before putting her gloves back on and approaching the doorway that would lead her back into the snow.

It didn't take long to spot Emma. She was standing with her back against a tree nearby, her gaze still turned down to the cell phone screen and her free hand stuffed into the pocket of her jacket. As Elizaveta drew nearer, she looked up and a smile came to her face. "Liz!" she said happily, clicking her phone screen dark and bounding over to her. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Elizaveta felt a matching smile upon her own face at the woman's childlike eagerness. "It's fantastic to see you too. I'm sorry for making you wait."

"It isn't a problem," Emma assured her. "Care to show me around a bit? This is my first Christmas in Germany, so I don't want to miss anything that this _Weihnachtsmarkt_ has to offer."

Elizaveta jumped a little in surprise when Emma linked her arm through hers, and she tried rather unsuccessfully to cover it with a cough. "Let's start over here," she said at once, attempting to mask her moment of surprise with speech.

Emma didn't seem to notice anything. In fact, she didn't speak again until they'd been walking for a few minutes. "It's so cold here," she said after a while, breathing in the frigid air. "I didn't really expect the conditions of winter here, to be honest. It's crazy different from when I used to live in Belgium."

"Do you miss home?" Elizaveta realized that this was probably one of the lamest things that she could have said at that moment, but it was just so easy to listen to Emma speak.

She shook her head. "Not really. I move around a lot, and I don't stay in one place for very long."

Elizaveta raised her eyebrows. "You're not in Germany to stay?"

Again, Emma shook her head. "No, this will be my only Christmas here. I don't plan on staying for more than six months after this."

"But why?"

"I can't." There was a touch of solemnity in Emma's voice, though that smile never left her face. "Wanderlust. I can't let myself stay anywhere more than a year because there're so many places in the world to see. It just seems like a waste, doesn't it?"

Elizaveta let out a short laugh. "I suppose it does," she agreed.

They spent the evening walking along streets filled with booths, recounting stories from life and travels while inspecting the unique wares of the vendors for which German Christmas markets were famous. It wasn't until they stopped for a cup of glühwein each that Emma slipped her hand into Elizaveta's. Their gloved hands stayed clasped for the rest of the night afterwards.

The evening passed far too quickly, and Elizaveta hardly realized how utterly late it was until Emma pointed out that it was near ten PM and that it was probably a good time to start thinking about going home since both of them had to be up early for work the next day. It was with a heavy heart that Elizaveta stood beside her on the street corner, her arm around Emma's waist, as they waited for her brother to come by with the car. She was glad that Jan had agreed to stop doing paperwork for long enough to pick up his sister. It was much too cold for anyone to be walking home at this time.

"It was really great spending time with you tonight, Elizaveta." Emma leaned her head against Elizaveta's shoulder and smiled up at her.

Elizaveta returned the smile. "I can truthfully say the same. Would you be interested in doing this again sometime?"

"Of course I would!" Emma wrapped her arms around Elizaveta's waist and pulled her into a hug. "That would be fantastic. Be thinking of what you'd like to do, alright? You're always welcome at my place as long as Jan promises to leave us alone."

Elizaveta laughed and was about to reply, but the blinding headlights of a car pulling up beside them made her falter.

Emma pulled away. "Thanks again," she said, her cheeks growing more pink than they already had been due to the cold. "I had a really great time." She was quiet for a moment, a look of what seemed like uncharacteristic shyness crossing her features. The car horn blared close by. "One second!" Emma shouted back. Then, in one fluid movement, she leaned in and pressed her lips softly to Elizaveta's. The kiss was over as quickly as it had begun, and Emma pulled away and gazed up at her with those deep green eyes of hers for the final time that night. "I'll see you tomorrow morning," she said, flashing one last little smile as her before stomping over to the car and opening the door before saying something to her brother in a language that Elizaveta didn't understand and taking a seat within.

The driver of the car, a man with blonde, styled hair who sat hunched over due to the short height of the roof, raised his eyebrows at Elizaveta. She gave him a little wave in return. He nodded after a moment, and then the car accelerated away from the curb and drove out of sight.

Elizaveta let out a deep sigh as she watched the brake lights disappear from view. As far as first dates went, it had been an overwhelming success. Emma was just the kind of person she had been searching for, and she hoped that she was suitable enough in return. She'd agreed on another date and ended the evening with a kiss, so Elizaveta must have done something right.

Emma said that she'd only be in the country for six months more at the most. No matter how discouraging that was, there was so much more that they could do before those six months were over. She'd hold onto that fact until the end.

But for the moment, she was content with the fact that she'd see Emma the next day. That alone was enough for now.


End file.
